Chapter 8 - The Mercer SecretThe dead man behind everything was still alive.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Nathaniel pushed us toward the floor.
Daniel dragged my mother behind the couch.
Windows shattered.
Someone screamed from the street.
Nathaniel fired twice through the darkness.
“Back exit!”
We ran.
The house became a maze of smoke and broken glass.
My mother's hand locked around mine.
“Emily, listen to me.”
“What?”
“Do not let Nathaniel take you to Mercer Tower.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where your father is.”
I stopped.
Nathaniel looked at her.
“You said my father was alive.”
“He is.”
“Where?”
She pointed toward the mountain road.
“Under Mercer property.”
Nathaniel stared at her.
“My father has been dead for eight years.”
My mother shook her head.
“He staged his death.”
Nathaniel's face became unreadable.
Daniel spoke.
“What does he want?”
My mother answered:
“You.”
Nathaniel's head turned sharply.
“Why me?”
“Because you're the only person who can inherit the Mercer organization without his permission.”
Silence.
“You mean he wants Nathaniel dead?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“He wants you.”
I felt cold.
“Why?”
“Because the trust Alexander created can only be activated by blood.”
I touched my chest.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“And yours?”
“My blood doesn't matter anymore.”
Nathaniel stared at the ground.
“What happens if I die?”
My mother looked at him.
“Grant takes Blackridge.”
“And your father?”
“He takes Pinehaven.”
“And Emily?”
She hesitated.
“She becomes the legal owner of both.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
Suddenly I understood.
I wasn't just a witness.
I was the prize.
The entire war was about controlling me.
Nathaniel stepped closer.
“You're leaving.”
“No.”
“You're going somewhere safe.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“You don't get to decide that.”
“Neither do you.”
His jaw tightened.
“Emily.”
“I spent twenty-four years having other people decide what I could know.”
I stepped closer.
“I'm finished.”
Something flashed in his eyes.
Pride.
Fear.
Maybe both.
My mother touched my shoulder.
“Then you're ready.”
“For what?”
She pulled a small key from her coat.
It was engraved with a letter.
M.
“Your father kept a second vault.”
“Where?”
“Mercer Tower.”
Nathaniel stared at the key.
“That vault doesn't exist.”
My mother smiled faintly.
“It does.”
A loud crash came from outside.
Nathaniel looked toward the windows.
“We need to move.”
Daniel opened the rear door.
Before we left, my mother stopped me.
“There's something I haven't told you.”
“What?”
She looked at Nathaniel.
Then back at me.
“Alexander wasn't your biological father.”
The world tilted.
“What?”
My mother's lips trembled.
“Your biological father was Nathaniel's father.”
I stared at Nathaniel.
He looked just as shocked.
May you like
My mother whispered:
“You are a Mercer.”
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